Minutes of Parent Representatives’ Meeting
Spence School
Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 8:30 am

Guest (brief appearance):  Betsy Pitts, Head of Parents Association, Spence School

Karen Frank:  Estee Lauder has committed to donate 350 women’s gift bags for next year’s Service Saturday.

Sarah Barish-Straus, Student Liaison:  Publicolor. Will be held Saturday April 25 in the Bronx.  The students will meet at the Starbucks near 84th Street and Lexington Ave. and proceed to the school by train.  Students should bring their Metrocards.

Laurie Mendick, Columbia Grammar, joined us today as a new parent representative.

Colleen Pike Blair and Diane Gallagher:  Independent Voices: Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Center, Friday April 3, 6:30pm.  The event was a huge success. Andrew Fanelli MC’d again but JSA will need to find someone new for next year, ideally an existing JSA student rep.  All schools participated except Horace Mann, Riverdale, and Dalton. Calhoun, La Scuola d’Italia, and Columbia Prep were published but missed the reading.  Advice for next year includes getting students’ commitments to read when they submit their poetry, schedule some time before the event for the faculty to meet each other, and possibly self-publishing so that those who want can still get hard copies. Suggestion was also made that a program and or email be sent to key people at each school, thanking them for their participation, and listing the students who participated.  A year-end wrap up letter was also suggested, so that the schools can see what their dues supported.

Ritu Banga, Independent Visions:  Tamarind Art Gallery 142 East 39th St., Saturday May 2, Reception 5-7pm, Sunday May 3, Viewing 12-4pm.  Faculty have been emailed to send “jpeg” files for the video and to put on the website.  Volunteers are needed to get food/drink and to chaperone. Diane Gallagher, Sarah Barish-Straus, and Sabina Wu volunteered for Saturday’s reception.  Martha Leitner and Kathleen Coffey (at a previous JSA meeting) volunteered for Sunday.  Sarah and Diane will bring music CDs.  Paul D. Inunzio, a professor of digital photography, will speak.  Ritu will send out the invitations for parent reps to forward to their schools. Students must bring school ID cards.

Diane Discenza on behalf of Evianne Cowing, Treasurer’s Report: JSA has a new accountant to do our taxes, on schedule for May 15th.  We have been “in the black” for the last several years.  All 17 schools paid their dues and $700 was received from the students’ fundraisers.  Suggestion is made to create a reserve as a cushion.  Colleen Pike Blair suggests that Voices’ budget be incorporated into our budget.

To lessen the confusion arising from the similarity in name, Sarah Barish-Straus will investigate the possibility of getting the Middle-School Joint Schools organization to change theirs.

***Next Meeting: The Dwight School, 291 CPW at 89th St.
                                Parent -Student Rep Meeting
                Thursday, May 21 at 4:15pm